In Hand Images of the SDCC Danger at the Docks Set!

SDCC Danger at the Docks in hand

The SDCC Danger at the Docks sets have shipped from ToysRUs.com and JBL admin Madmac41 received his set yesterday.

I have to say that I hate him for it!  Oh jealousy, you are truly a green-eyed monster.

After a quick phone conversation, I was able to get a few thoughts on the set:

  • Flint is built using the Resolute head and the Retaliation 3-pack torso.
  • The plastic on the vehicles, like much of the 50th product, is softer.  Apparently he’s had some issues with the rear axle.
  • The Night Landing weapons crate appears to contain an updated version of Road Pig’s wrist crossbow.
  • Overall, he’s pretty happy with the set and would like to see a Cobra Stinger re-release soon!

Check out the images of the SDCC Danger at the Docks set below.  These were posted to the JBL Facebook page earlier this afternoon.  My set is scheduled to arrive tomorrow so I have the feeling tomorrow night will be spent putting together a review as fast as my greedy little fingers can type!

Toys R Us Danger at the Docks Available NOW!

SDCC Danger at the Docks sold out

 UPDATE: As of 10:30am CST on 7/24 these are now SOLD OUT.

Just a quick update– the SDCC exclusive Danger at the Docks set is up at ToysRUs.com right now!  Limit one per person!

Go get ’em! A ’85 color scheme Flint and a VAMP Mk II await!  (Oh, and that Night Landing isn’t too shabby either!)

SDCC Exclusive G.I. Joe Danger at the Docks set

SDCC Danger at the Docks to Hit TRU.com on July 24

SDCC Danger Docks VAMP mk2

It’s almost time for SDCC 2014!

Next week is the 2014 San Diego Comic Con!  It’s a celebration of genre-related goodness with everything from panels featuring the latest movies to forthcoming toy lines on display.  It’s also a time when exclusive products are made available through manufacturers and retailers.   The G.I. Joe brand is no stranger to this concept– with a history of SDCC exclusive items sold through HasbroToyShop.com including the “Pimp Daddy” Destro, Sgt. Slaughter, and Jinx figures and even some G.I. Joe/Transformers cross-over items.  This year, however, the place to check out at the con is the Toys R Us booth!

As reported earlier here at JBL, Toys R Us will be offering an exclusive version of the forthcoming 50th Anniversary “Danger at the Docks” set at the Entertainment Earth Booth (#2343) featuring Flint in his classic colors as well as the first-ever Generation 3 update of the desert VAMP Mk 2.  However, this item will also be available online starting on July 24, 2014!

That’s right– this set, along with a host of other items including this admin’s sought-after movie-accurate TMNT figures, will be available at the following link on July 24, 2014!

http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=11433485&sr=1&origkw=sdcc

So get ready to hit those F5 keys and set your browser bookmarks!  July 24th is going to be an interesting day to shop online!

Please note: there is also a standard “urban” version of this set available as part of the 50th Anniversary line which will be available at brick & mortar Toys R Us stores later this Summer/early Fall.

G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Items Hit Ebay

G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Social Clash Lady Jaye Baroness

It was bound to happen sooner rather than later.  Ebay seller viperskingdom has listed several items from the forthcoming 50th Anniversary collection up for auction.  I’ve mirrored some of the images below but all of his auctions may also be found HERE.

First, the pictures, then some commentary….

Okay, I’m just going to go straight to the elephant in the room– the incredibly poor paint applications seen on the Lady Jaye figure.  Really– that’s one of the worst paint decos I’ve seen since the 2000 relaunch of the brand with the G.I. Joe vs. Cobra era.  This is the same head that was used by the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club for the Night Force Lady Jaye that was a 2013 Joe Con convention souvenir which means that fans have already seen how this head can turn out.  They’ve now got something to compare this “G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary” version to.  (I still argue that it’s really the “32nd Anniversary of ARAH”.)  Those same fans have also come to expect a certain level of quality from Hasbro produced items.

This isn’t it.  It’s like QC just took the night off and let the interns take a shot at painting.

As for the rest of the line?  Well, quite honestly– it’s uninspired.  Rather than celebrating the wide half-century history of a brand that redefined action figures for generations the marketing folks at Hasbro cobbled together a collection of repaints and some concept vault figures and called it a night.  While the more recent Joe fans might like the offerings, this long time Joe fan finds them lazy, uninspired, and downright insulting to the collectors of the 1:6 era that put G.I. Joe on the map in the first place.

Sure, there’s going to be a Snow Wolf and a “mostly new” Leatherneck, but overall this line is nothing even close to what it really should have been.

Check out the rest of viperskingdom’s current G.I. Joe auctions on Ebay.

G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Now A Shared Exclusive

G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Danger at the Docks

The G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary line is due out this Fall and apparently it won’t just be available at Toys R Us!

Many Joe fans had a bit of a surprise waiting in their email boxes this morning.  Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com announced that the G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary line will now be a shared retail exclusive.  Even more interesting is that not all of the announced packs are currently listed for order– possibly indicating that Hasbro intends to stretch the series out over a longer period and two waves.  A quick bit of clarification posted at ToyNewsI.com states that Hasbro has no set release date for the missing two-packs featuring the Baroness vs. Lady Jaye and Snow Job vs. a Cobra B.A.T.

Here’s the actual text with the individual links:

BBTS SHARED EXCLUSIVE GI JOE 50TH ANNIVERSARY FIGURE TWO-PACKS 
The first of the new 50th Anniversary listings is the Figure Two-Packs. This wave includes Night Marksmen (Low-Light Vs. Night Viper) and Heated Battle (Blowtorch Vs. H.E.A.T. Viper), and they are available at $29.99 for the Set of two Two-Packs, or $16.99 for each Two-Pack singly.
BBTS SHARED EXCLUSIVE GI JOE 50TH ANNIVERSARY FIGURE THREE-PACKS 
This wave of Three-Packs is titled Outnumbered and includes The Vipers Pit (Cobra Trooper, Cobra Viper, Beach Head) and The Eagles Edge (Destro, Leatherneck, Hawk). They are priced at $22.99 each, or at $39.99 for the Set of two Three-Packs.
BBTS SHARED EXCLUSIVE GI JOE 50TH ANNIVERSARY DANGER AT THE DOCKS SET 
The first of two vehicle packs is the Danger at the Docks Set, which includes the GI Joe VAMP MK II with Flint Versus Cobra Eel with Night Landing Craft. This Set is listed at $29.99.
BBTS SHARED EXCLUSIVE GI JOE 50TH ANNIVERSARY BATTLE BELOW ZERO SET 
We also have the Battle Below Zero Set listed. It includes Cobra Wolf with Ice Viper Versus Arctic Sky Hawk with Arctic Snake Eyes, and is priced at $39.99.

So, the pre-orders are up and fans now have at least two locations to shop for new product.  It’s good news for fans who are seeking to track down the 32nd Anniversary… uh 50th Anniversary line.  (That’s a discussion for another day, however.)

And now you know…

G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention Starts Tonight

2014 G.I. Joe Convention Joe Colton

Tonight’s the night– the Golden Ticket pick-up for the G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention!  That’s the time where the fans with premium passes get early access to the 2014 Zombie Initiative and Codename: G.I. Joe convention sets!

JBL will not be onsite this year due to some “real world” issues however good friend of the site Mike Breaux of TheBreauxShow.com is attending this weekend and will be posting several updates throughout the next few days.  You can follow him directly on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/thebreauxshow.  JBL will also repost news here on the front page as it is reported.

Also, be sure to check out the coverage over at YoJoe.com and GeneralsJoes.com as Justin “General Hawk” Bell is on scene for the 50th Anniversary celebration of “America’s Movable Fighting Man”!

To all who are attending– have a great weekend!

For more information on this year’s convention, visit GIJoeCon.com!

G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary – Derryl DePriest talks with Bloomberg

Derryl DePriest on Bloomberg

The G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary has received a fair amount of coverage at Toy Fair 2014 by the mainstream media.  Derryl DePriest, Vice President of Boys Marketing for Hasbro and life-long G.I. Joe fan, sits down with Stephanie Ruhle of Bloomberg Television as part of their “Market Makers” series.

(If the embedded video is not working you may view the original interview HERE.)

I have to say that Derryl handled himself well in the face of some pretty direct and pointed questions.  Yes, the “military” question came up but so did some interesting insights in terms of innovation going forward.  (3D printing?  YES!)  So did the question of whether or not G.I. Joe is a good role model today.  While the interviewer tries to take things in a political direction multiple times, Derryl keeps the focus on the strengths of the G.I. Joe brand. and touches on the brand’s origins, the transition to the Adventure Team, and  the focus on Kre-O as a source of innovation.

It’s always a pleasure to listen to Derryl discuss G.I. Joe.  His personal passion for and commitment to the brand is obvious in every word.  It’s good to know that our favorite “Man of Action” has such an able ambassador!

G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Article from the BBC

BBC News logo

It would seem that the G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary is “kind of a big deal” in the toy world– especially when coverage of the event stretches all the way across the Atlantic to the U.K.

Kim Gittleston, a business reporter for the BBC who is currently covering the New York Toy Fair, published an excellent piece yesterday entitled “How Did G.I. Joe Become the World’s Most Successful Boys’ Toy?”  It’s an excellent piece that covers the entire history of the brand, from its early beginnings to its most current state and includes quotes from noted Joe personalities like Derryl DePriestKirk Bozigian, and even friend of JBL and GeneralsJoes.com admin Justin Bell.  (Honestly, it’s a much better and less biased piece than the earlier AP article that ran a week ago.)

It’s good to see the G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary getting coverage both domestically and internationally. This shows that not only does the brand have reach but that there’s still life in old Joe yet!

(Thanks to Adrian Faulkner for the heads-up and congrats to Justin Bell on the quotation!)

G.I. Joe Toy Fair Press Release and Official Images

G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Social Clash

Thanks to the good folks at Hunter Public Relations, we now have the official G.I. Joe Toy Fair press release and images!

HASBRO CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE G.I. JOE BRAND

The “Original Action Figure” Turns a Half-Century Old with New Toys“R”Us-Exclusive Line, Licensing Program

PAWTUCKET, R.I. – February 15, 2014 – Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) today unveiled initiatives planned for the 50th anniversary celebration of its iconic G.I. JOE brand at the American International Toy Fair in New York City. The storied property, which invented the “action figure” toy category, celebrates its incredible five-decade history by partnering with Toys“R”Us as the official toy headquarters for the G.I. JOE brand in 2014. Kids and fans can look forward to a special edition 50th anniversary-branded action figure line available only at Toys“R”Us stores nationwide and online at Toysrus.com, along with new items in the popular KRE-O G.I. JOE line of building sets from Hasbro, beginning this March through the fall 2014.

Launched at the American International Toy Fair in 1964, the “original action figure” debuted as a 12-inch pose-able soldier toy, G.I. JOE has been a pop-culture phenomenon ever since. The property evolved over the years, from the original 12-inch action figure in the 1960s, the ADVENTURE TEAM in the 1970s and the G.I. JOE vs. COBRA saga which was introduced in the 1980s with a 3.75-inch action figure line, comic book series and legendary animated series G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO. Recently the brand has introduced two blockbuster movies based on the saga including G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA and G.I. JOE RETALIATION from Paramount Pictures.

“The G.I. JOE brand is a pop culture and childhood icon whose cultural relevance, based on its core essence of action, bravery and the compelling characters from G.I. JOE vs. COBRA saga, continues to inspire the imaginations of kids and fans around the world,” said John Frascotti, Chief Marketing Officer, Hasbro, Inc. “From action figures and publishing, to animated series and global blockbuster movies, few properties have the cultural resonance and enduring appeal. In the 50th anniversary year of the G.I. JOE brand Hasbro looks forward to delivering fan-favorite action figures, exciting new publishing ventures and innovative but nostalgic KRE-O building sets to the brands most ardent fans and newest recruits.”

“For generations, Toys“R”Us kids big and small have cherished the G.I. JOE brand and brought its legendary characters to life through play,” said Lisa Harnisch, Senior Vice President and General Merchandising Manager, Toys“R”Us, U.S. “We are proud to partner with Hasbro to help commemorate this golden anniversary, and are eager to bring an exciting assortment of G.I. JOE figures, including classics and new items from the hit KRE-O line, exclusively to Toys“R”Us customers this year.”

Beginning in March, exciting new KRE-O building sets will let kids and collectors alike build vehicles and environments to play out the G.I. JOE vs. COBRA fantasy. Collectible blind-bagged KREONS of popular G.I. JOE characters will also hit shelves, including characters from both the heroic G.I. JOE team like LADY JAYE and FOOTLOOSE, as well as the villainous COBRA organization like TOMAX and SCRAP IRON. As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, Hasbro and Toys“R”Us are bringing one of the most popular G.I. JOE vs. COBRA playsets from the 1980s back in KRE-O form with the KRE-O G.I. JOE TERROR DROME Building Set. This iconic set features over 850 pieces and will be available in the fall.

Additionally, a collectible 50th anniversary-branded, 3.75-inch scale action figure and vehicle line will debut at Toys“R”Us this fall. The special edition line will be offered in unique 50th anniversary branded packaging and reintroduce classic G.I. JOE vs. COBRA characters and iconic vehicles, including some that have not been available since the 1980s. Fans will be able to purchase classic characters like DESTRO, SNAKE EYES and HAWK, as well as vehicles like the G.I. JOE VAMP MKII and COBRA WOLF VEHICLE with an updated sculpting style and unique deco.

The 50th anniversary year will also continue the G.I. JOE brand’s long tradition of publishing and rich storytelling with exciting new programs from Hasbro’s partners. IDW Publishing’s G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICANHERO will release its landmark 200th issue in March 2014, continuing the story of the original 1980s G.I. JOE comic by original writer Larry Hama. IDW will also launch TRANSFORMERS/G.I. JOE, a series uniting Hasbro’s iconic brands, by acclaimed creators Tom Scioli and John Barber this summer. Additionally, as part of its publishing program, Hasbro is opening the fantasy to fan participation. Amazon Publishing recently announced that Kindle Worlds has reached a licensing agreement with Hasbro to open up a new Kindle World based on the G.I. JOE brand. With the launch of the G.I. JOE Kindle World, writers will be able to publish their own original fiction starring iconic G.I. JOE characters like DUKE, SNAKE EYES, and COBRA COMMANDER and sell their work on Amazon.com. The G.I. JOE Kindle World will open for writers to start publishing stories in the next few months.

This spring, the official G.I. JOE Collector’s Club will host the 21st annual G.I. JOE fan convention, known as “GIJoeCon,” in Dallas from Thursday, April 10 to Sunday, April 13. Convention organizers plan on celebrating the 50th anniversary with exclusive action figure sets, special G.I. JOE guests from throughout the brand’s history and the opportunity to meet and interact with other fans of the brand. Fans can learn more about the Hasbro-sponsored convention by visiting www.GIJoeCon.com.

About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company dedicated to fulfilling the fundamental need for play for children and families through the creative expression of the Company’s world class brand portfolio, including TRANSFORMERS, MONOPOLY, PLAY-DOH, MY LITTLE PONY, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, NERF and LITTLEST PET SHOP. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its global customers with innovative play and entertainment experiences, in a variety of forms and formats, anytime and anywhere. The Company’s Hasbro Studios develops and produces television programming for more than 170 markets around the world, and for the U.S. on Hub Network, part of a multi-platform joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications(NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK). Through the company’s deep commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world for future generations and to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families every year. It has been recognized for its efforts by being named one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” and is ranked as one of Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens.” Learn more at www.hasbro.com.

50th Anniversary:

Kre-O:

Collector’s Club unveils G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Images

G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary VAMP

We’ve got some G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary images– courtesy of the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Facebook page!  Eagle-eyed fans will recognize some of these figures from the Concept Case from Joe Con 2013.

I’ve mirrored them below but I’d also encourage everyone to stop by their Facebook page and give ’em a “Like” to stay abreast of the latest GIJCC news!

Also, check out the continually updated JBL Toy Fair 2014 Coverage as the day progresses!